The team announced Tuesday they would donate $100,000 to the 100 Club of Arizona, which provides financial assistance to families of public safety officers and firefighters killed or injured in the line of duty.

Nineteen of the 20 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, an elite firefighting unit, were killed fighting the blaze in Northern Arizona.

“Our hearts go out to all of those affected by the devastating and tragic events this week, especially the families of the 19 brave members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots who lost their lives serving our community,” Cardinals president Michael Bidwill said. “Our team is proud to assist the ongoing efforts and encourage our fans, the community and Arizona businesses to support these relief initiatives.”

The Cards also sent personnel to a Red Cross shelter in Prescott today to meet with displaced residents and those still battling the fire, and plan to announce more fundraising efforts closer to the start of training camp and the regular season.

While this is a great gesture for sure, this will do nothing to dispell the notion that the Bidwell’s are cheap. $100k for 19 fallen is $5k per family. Hardly enough to even lay them to rest. Kudos on the gesture, but from a multi-million dollar team in a multi-billion dollar organization, it should have been more.

How in the world do 19 firefighters die in a blaze? I undersand 9/11, but I am having a tough time wrapping my mind around this. Wow. May they all rest in peace. The job they do running into a place where everyone else is running out and attempting to save the lives of the people too scared to move in those places…whew. Props to the Cardinals for their donation.

jjackwagon says:Jul 2, 2013 4:21 PM

$100k? That’s all? A nice gesture but with the money NFL owners/teams/players rake in they couldn’t pony up $100k per?

justintuckrule says:Jul 2, 2013 4:31 PM

$100K to each firefighter or $100K total? Please tell me the former. Didn’t Kevin Durant just donate $5M to the tornado victims?

Nice that the Bidwell’s gave a little pocket change, known for being cheap I am surprised they gave anything. I hope the state of Arizona does the right thing and take care of those families. I think fair compensation should be around $10 million each, they all would have earned at least half that if they had lived to be in old age, but knowing how cheap and low life the state is first hand I bet Arizona will kick in another small amount of money. Stand by your word Arizona, make sure those families are treated with dignity, respect, and honored. Those men gave their lives for you.

These 19 were some of the best. That said with the heat wave of over 107 and the wind coming off the ridge it was very dangerous for even the best. They were triing to build a fire line to protect some homes when the wind shifted on them and they ran for their life. Because it was a brush fire there safty blankets were not sufficient. The Bidwells did well to respond quickly. With a few thousand dollars to help families now and more to come as they organize fundraisers. Bidwells said they would spend money when they finally got a stadium and they defenitetly are in many areas. R.I.P. to the 19 firefighters.

ColtsWinColtsWin!! says:Jul 2, 2013 5:01 PM

Thank You Cardinals, very classy gesture.

dioalice says:Jul 2, 2013 6:22 PM

I can’t believe that the Cardinals can donate $100,000 and still be seen by some – as the comments here attest – as being cheap.

Props to the Cardinals for doing the right thing. To those of you criticizing them, I suppose it’s on you to better their lousy donation of a mere $100k…

Finally, if you simply must, in your ignorance, continue to criticize the Cards in general and the Bidwill family in particular for being cheap, please go ahead and expand your knowledge to include the proper spelling of their name. There is no “e” in Bidwill.

justintuckrule says:Jul 2, 2013 6:31 PM

More than half of their $5ooM stadium was funded by tax payers such as those brave souls who died protecting the homes of fellow Cards fans including the Bidwills northern AZ getaway homes. $100K?? what a joke! shame on them.

The 100 Club is already set up to help these families. The Cardinals have no obligation to kick in anything but are giving generously.

Other local businesses are also contributing to this fund.

The article clearly states that the Cardinals plan on doing more in the near future.

Michael Bidwill has proven over time that he IS NOT cheap and is reversing the thinking of the organization. Take a look at their payroll and update your 15 year old assumptions about the team.

As much as they are brave heroes and this is a true tragedy, It really is up to the firefighters to have a robust life insurance policy on themselves if they are going to choose this occupation.

justintuckrule says:Jul 2, 2013 7:07 PM

As much as they are brave heroes and this is a true tragedy, It really is up to the firefighters to have a robust life insurance policy on themselves if they are going to choose this occupation.
——
Talk about a moronic statement. The policy probably costs as much as their paltry salary. They don’t choose their profession to make bank. They choose it to protect the public, including the mentally challenged, such as yourself.

Seriously? “Michael Bidwill has proven over time that he IS NOT cheap and is reversing the thinking of the organization”. Then what is he reversing? His family, and Michael, have a VERY long history of being cheap. It takes a long time to reverse many decades of history and business practices. Unlike most people sport addicts keep mental records and DO NOT forget facts.
I respect that he gave. God Bless him. I will look forward to their promise of “more” help in this matter. It’s not about who gives what, it’s about taking care of the children, wives, elderly mothers and fathers, the families who have lost their homes, the people who lost a way of life in Yarnell.

“$100k? That’s all? A nice gesture but with the money NFL owners/teams/players rake in they couldn’t pony up $100k per?”
Somebody’s always gotta pee in the pool, huh? How much did you critics donate? Just your pissy attitude, I bet.

justintuckrule says:
“Talk about a moronic statement. The policy probably costs as much as their paltry salary. They don’t choose their profession to make bank. They choose it to protect the public, including the mentally challenged, such as yourself.”

I’ve seen some of your past posts and you might want to check who YOU’RE accusing of being a moron. And check your facts about life insurance while you’re at it.

As a licensed life agent in the state of Arizona, I know for a fact that young people in these professions can get quality coverage to take care of their families and children for many years, or even for life. I personally have put policies on cops and firefighters for less than $40 a month.

I’m sure some of these guys did but I’m also sure most didn’t. Unfortunately, most people feel invincible in their 20s – no matter what they do for a living.

justintuckrule says:Jul 2, 2013 7:50 PM

“$100k? That’s all? A nice gesture but with the money NFL owners/teams/players rake in they couldn’t pony up $100k per?”
Somebody’s always gotta pee in the pool, huh? How much did you critics donate? Just your pissy attitude, I bet.
——
Michael Bidwill’s net worth is estimated to be $1.4B. Contributing $100K means (I think..) that he contributed .0014% of his net worth. I’m broke and I donated $200 b/c it was such a tragedy and I’m from Sandy torn NJ. Lol, I donated a larger portion of my net worth than Bidwill did to heroes in his own back yard. Like I said, what a joke!!

justintuckrule says:Jul 2, 2013 7:55 PM

Without that cush 65% publically donated cush stadium he gets to litter year in, year out, Bidwill would have nowhere near the 1.4B net worth. He repays over $200M of public $$ by donating a few sheckles to the fallen firefighter fund.

Here’s an idea….donate a $100K to each family and give them each a set of season tickets to help them get over their horrendous loss. Without people like them, they’d still be in that crap hole in Tempe or, worse yet, in some decrepit stadium in St. Louis.

commonsensedude says:Jul 2, 2013 8:21 PM

I’m glad the Cards are doing this. What a horrible disaster. Praying for all the families.

eaglefan94 says:Jul 2, 2013 9:34 PM

It’s very sad that so many people lost their lives. I’d like to see more teams (and average citizens) take a page out of the Cardinals’ book.

goldrush36 says:Jul 2, 2013 10:25 PM

Great gesture.. Having donated a measly $100 I can’t rag on them being cheap.. But I do got one thing to say to the clown talking about life insurance policies. Have you ever seen the starting rates for MODEST policies on first responders.. let alone fire fighters? If you had you wouldn’t be talking as if it’s no big deal